Taos County Gets Its First Bariatric Ambulance

Taos County recently rolled out the area’s first ambulance made specifically to transport obese patients. It can make it safer and more comfortable for heavier people to get medical assistance.

Typical ambulance gurneys can carry up to 600 pounds, but Joaquin Gonzales said three or four times a year, his crews will respond to calls for people exceeding that limit. He’s the Director of EMS in Taos County and said it takes a lot of work to move those patients.

"Some ambulance services don’t have powered stretchers, so you have to lift that gurney all the way up into the ambulance," he said. "So that takes at least six people to do so."

Their new one is a regular ambulance outfitted with a broader cabin and new hydraulics, Gonzales said, so its lift can automatically load up to 1,300 pounds. That should require fewer EMTs.

The county got it with a grant worth more than $25,000, making it the only one of its kind north of Bernalillo County. They have two of their own.

The new ambulance will be used all over Northern New Mexico, from Raton to Santa Fe.

On a huge stretch of mesa to the Southwest of Albuquerque, people have built dwellings. These homesteaders on Pajarito Mesa say when they call for emergency services, help isn’t always on its way.

There are questions about the legality of land-ownership or even whether people should be living in this part of Bernalillo County. Some county officials say they don’t want to encourage anyone to move there by providing services.

Stroke is one of the most common medical emergencies. The effects of a stroke last a lifetime, and treating the condition can be extremely expensive. But if doctors can diagnose and treat a stroke quickly, they can reduce the damage a patient suffers.